Mayor Jerry Treñas is not keen on imposing a lockdown or stricter quarantine regulations in Iloilo City amid the rising number of COVID -19 infections.

“There is no lockdown being planned. We just need to reduce the capacities,” said Treñas.

The national government’s pandemic task force escalated the city’s quarantine status to Alert Level 3 from Jan. 9 to 15.

Under this heightened alert level, establishments are limited to operate at 30 percent indoor venue capacity for fully vaccinated individuals and 50 percent outdoor venue capacity regardless of vaccination status, provided that all employees of these establishments are fully vaccinated against COVID-19.

“We need the economy to be revived after two years,” Treñas stressed.

“Jobs must be made available. We only need to be vaccinated and be boosted. Minimum health protocols must be strictly observed,” the mayor added.

Last week, the city reported its first case of the COVID-19 Omicron variant.

Based on the January 9 bulletin issued by the Department of Health (DOH-6), the city has 321 active cases of the disease.IMT